Lawyer fights suspension for insults

Other attorneys called `punk,' other names

September 26, 2002|By Michael Higgins, Tribune staff reporter.

A Downstate lawyer who faces a 30-day suspension for insulting opposing lawyers has appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, arguing that the 1st Amendment protects his right to call opponents "punk," "geekbreath" and "babycakes."

Marvin Gerstein, 62, of Urbana asked the court not to accept the recommendation of a state review board, which voted last month to suspend him for suggesting to opponents in 1997 and 1998, for example, that they stick their letters to him "in that bodily orifice into which no sun shines."

If the Supreme Court affirms the suspension, it would be the first time an Illinois lawyer has been suspended for insulting opposing lawyers.

Gerstein's attorney wrote that his client has "toned down" his irate letters to opponents, in part with the help of a secretary who now reviews his correspondence. In an appeal petition mailed Saturday and made public Wednesday, attorney Roger Webber of Urbana wrote that Gerstein understood that even letters without outright profanity could subject him to discipline.

But in an interview Wednesday, Gerstein was less conciliatory, saying he believed free speech was sacrosanct and pointing with pride to a letter he wrote to the editor of The News-Gazette in Champaign.

That letter, which was written in August in response to the review board's recommendation, accuses the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of merely trying "to protect the veneer of professionalism; the facade of legal ethics."

Of the commission's attempts to discipline him, he wrote: "It is the authority of the stupid being implemented by bureaucratic cretins of the mentally inane. Their stench permeates the legal profession."

He concluded with, "Will I change? Never."

Gerstein's appeal was filed one day late. If the court accepts it, the commission has 14 days to respond, said James Grogan, chief counsel of the commission. The court could rule in November.

Grogan would not comment on the arguments made in the petition or Gerstein's letter to the editor.

In the petition Webber also argues that the legal standards that Gerstein is accused of violating are vague. The state review board cited Gerstein for violations including conduct "which tends to ... bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute."

Gerstein, a general practitioner who often represents employees in litigation with their employers, said Wednesday that most good trial lawyers are aggressive. He said he respected lawyers who had shot back at him, rather than reporting his insults to the authorities.